The future of one out of contract Sheffield Wednesday man is ‘very much up in the air’, says Joe Crann.
Sheffield Wednesday have agreed new deals for veteran duo Liam Palmer and Barry Bannan, but still wait on decisions from a number of others.
The Owls announced their retained list last month, revealing new deals for the likes of Di’Shon Bernard, Cameron Dawson, Dominic Iorfa, Will Vaulks, and Josh Windass.
Dawson may now be one who moves on with Danny Rohl set to welcome veteran goalkeeper Ben Hamer to S6.
Meanwhile, Bernard and Windass both have interest from elsewhere, so their futures remains very much up for debate.
And so too does the future of Player of the Season Vaulks; the Welshman featured 34 times in the Championship last season and grabbed three assists.
He put in some memorable individual performances throughout the campaign, showing his class as a battling midfielder and also as a set-piece specialist.
But Crann has now suggested that Vaulks faces an uncertain summer at Sheffield Wednesday.
Will Vaulks future at Sheffield Wednesday ‘up in the air’
Vaulks is yet to put pen-to-paper on a new Sheffield Wednesday deal, following two seasons with the Owls.
He’s played key roles in both his seasons at the club, but Crann posted on X that Vaulks’ future at the club is ‘very much up in the air’.
Crann adds that Vaulks ‘wants to stay at Hillsborough, but that the involved parties aren’t close to any agreement yet’.
Crann also reveals that Vaulks has ‘tempting interest’ from elsewhere.
Should Sheffield Wednesday keep Will Vaulks
The first thing to note is that Rohl now has very few central midfielders at his disposal; after loan exits and players being released, Bannan is really the club’s only natural central midfielder.
That, and Vaulks is the one who can better operate in that holding midfield role, providing great coverage in front of the defenders.
As per Sofascore, Vaulks led the Sheffield Wednesday team for most tackles-per-game and interceptions-per-game last time round.
Although he had small spells of inconsistency, he proved his worth in the end, and in that sense, Rohl and Sheffield Wednesday should do all they can to keep Vaulks at the club for another season.
Then again, Rohl will want a new generation of players coming in. Vaulks is 30 now and will be 31 soon after the start of the 2024/25 campaign.
It may be that Vaulks only signs a one-year extension, or that a one-year extension is all the club is willing to offer, which may explain the difficulty in coming to an agreement.
So there’s more factors to weigh up other than the quality he brings to the side; whether or not Sheffield Wednesday sign a horde of midfielders this summer, keeping Vaulks in the team seems like a smart bet.
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